Just One Bite
by Celeste Cyanide
Summary: idkk :/ august it sucks, lol :
1. Romanticide

My Uncle Billy's house is very small, compared to my house in Joliet. I sat at his small, weak-looking dinner table in the middle of his kitchen. I looked around warily, looking at my wristwatch constantly, until Jacob showed up, bare-chested and sweating.

He glanced up at me as I stood up. He wiped his forehead on his arm, and said, "hey, Winnie

I nodded at him, and said, "Hey, Jake. Where were you?"

He glanced at Billy, question in his eyes. "Just out, running. When did you get here?"

_Oh, just a little while ago. You just missed my ever-in-a-hurry mother, too busy to even take care of her daughter during the summer._ I grimaced. She didn't even bother to come in. she just dumped me and my things at the airport, and ran to catch her flight to Florida, where she'll be staying for the rest of the summer, in order to avoid her ever-present ex-husband. They'd gotten a divorce when I was five, almost over a decade ago, and yet, there he was, all the time. Ever since I could remember, he'd been constantly there for my mother, whenever she needed financial help, or a weekend to get away from her kids. She took him for granted for the longest, and finally, last year he'd decided to start letting go. He'd started dating the wicked witch of the Midwest, and my mother was extremely jealous. The last straw was when my dad asked for primary custody of me, and my mother refused, claiming I was all she had left in her life. We all knew that was a lie, but rather than argue, my father let it drop, and decided he was going to marry Leanne, and move away to New York. There was something weird about him, when he had given up. He looked my mother right in the eye, and said, "When she starts attacking you, don't come looking for me to help. You brought this upon yourself." Then he'd turned to me, and grinned. My mom didn't want to let me come this summer, thinking my father would find a way to kidnap me, but I kicked and screamed until she finally let me go.

There was always something odd in the way my parents addressed me, like if they knew I had some incurable disease that they didn't want to tell me about. I always just attributed it to how I resembled my dad more then my mom, unlike my other siblings, who had the fair skin and complexion of my mother's Caucasian roots. I had slightly darker skin, not quite as dark as the Quileute's, but not as light as my mothers polish family. My hair was a deep red, almost burgundy. I had the deep-set black eyes of my father, and he used to joke that I was Billy's daughter. Maybe that's why they sent me away every summer...

They used to send my siblings with me too, but after a certain age, my father finally said they didn't have to go. My brother Jeremy was the last one to go through this arduous process, and now I had the obligation of keeping the family's native roots alive.

Billy turned in his wheelchair and headed towards us. "Her mother dropped her off about ten minutes ago. You didn't miss much, just her unpacking a few things."

"And exploring the inner recesses of your- oops, I mean, my new room." I grinned up at him. He was much taller than I remembered, and I had last visited last summer. I frowned. "Are you taking steroids, or something? You're bigger than I remember."

Jake chuckled. "You're pretty big yourself. Last time I saw you, you were up to here." He gestured near his midsection. I was almost at his shoulder now.

"Yeah, well, there's this thing, called puberty, which states that girls hit their growth spurts around my age--" I hadn't finished when he had pulled me into a bear hug. I started sweating at once—he was feverishly hot—and said "Welcome back, Winnie."

I pulled away.

Jake chuckled again, turned to Billy. "Where is the invitation?" Billy wheeled himself over to the drawers next to the refrigerator and pulled out a thick envelope. Jake grabbed it and started towards his room. I was uncomfortable staying in the small kitchen with Billy, so I followed Jake into his room.

He turned to me halfway down the (short) hallway. "Where are you going?"

"To your room."

He frowned and clenched his jaw. "I want to be alone."

I looked behind his thick abdomen. "I want to sleep in a bigger room the whole summer." I sauntered around him, almost into his room. "Looks like we're both going to be disappointed."

He intercepted my path, and shoved his way past me into his room. "Leave me alone." He almost shut the door in my face when I was standing on his bed. He turned and frowned again. "How'd you get in here so fast?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I'm pretty fast."

He shook his head and sat on the bed. "What do they feed you?" he opened the thick envelope.

I bounced on the bed, and sat down next to him. "What does Billy feed you? You're like a giant! And you need to cut your hair, too. Or, what, are you trying to impress a girl?" I laughed aloud. "Like that's ever gonna work."

"Alright, get out!" he shouted and tried picking me up and shoving me back out the door. "I don't have time for your crap!"

"No Jake, I'm sorry! I'll stop!" I protested, kicking and screaming, until he put me back down. I flipped my thick red hair out of my face, and put my hands on my hips. "Well, are you?"

He groaned and put his hands on his face. "You are such a _pest_!"

I smiled proudly. "Nothing changed with me. You're the one who's different this summer."

Jake flinched for a second.

"What did I miss?" I asked, concerned now. "Oh! What happened with that Bella girl you used to like? Is she still with that Cullen guy?"

"Jake, do you think maybe you could take Winnie out somewhere, you know, around? Introduce her to some of your friends?"

I turned to Billy. "That's a fantastic idea! Seeing as last year I was cooped up here the entire summer." Jake groaned again. "Maybe to Bella's house?"

Jake turned to me, hesitantly. Billy frowned. "I don't really think Jake is wanted there, Winnie."

I frowned this time. "Why not?"

Billy and Jake turned to each other knowingly, and I just pouted. "Take her around the reservation, Jake."

Jake closed his eyes for a second, contemplating the consequences of hanging around with me when his "reputation" was in enough danger as it is. He opened them again, sighing, and finally said, "Don't embarrass me."

I grinned wickedly. "When have I ever led you to believe that I was embarrassing?"

Jake walked quickly, probably trying to outrun me without making it obvious, as I tagged along next to him. Silly Jake. Didn't he see that my legs were nearly as long as his were? Therefore, trying to ditch me was absolutely out of the question?

He walked me down to First Beach, until finally, he stopped and turned sharply on his heel. "My friends are here, but you're going to go over there, and hang out with those younger kids." I turned to follow his eyes, and groaned immediately.

"Dude, they're like, ten, or something!" I protested.

"Aren't you?" he smiled, smugly.

I rolled my eyes at him. "I'm almost as old as you, don't forget that." I peered behind him, waving at a tall, muscular boy. He grinned sheepishly and waved back. "See? You're friends like me already."

Jake turned and grimaced at his friend. His face went bright red right then, and he shrugged. Jake groaned and put his hands up to his head. "Should I even bother keeping you away from them?"

I didn't answer. I didn't even look at him. Or his friends. Because behind them all, was the most gorgeous guy I had ever seen. He was the same russet colored skin as everyone else, and the same glossy black hair, but there was something about him. Maybe the twinkle in his eye, or the little hop to his step. Whatever it was made me stare like an idiot, until I finally realized we'd been making eye contact for about ten seconds, and looked away quickly before embarrassing myself further. Jake noticed the blush creeping up my neck, and laughed. He turned behind me to see what could've possibly embarrassed me, and frowned.

"I've never seen him around here." He looked back at me and crossed his arms.

I knew instantly what this meant, my brothers had pulled this one me many times before; I was not to come into contact until the situation had been thoroughly assessed, otherwise any communication between the said party and I would be prohibited. I pouted for a second, and turned around to sit on a log. "Why do you even care?" I mumbled, before kicking the dirt. Jake smiled and walked away towards his friends, but moving them all nearer to me, so I wouldn't sneak off and try to talk to the boy. They sat a few feet away, speaking in hushed voices. I sighed and turned back to look for the boy, trying to see what I could figure out about him. My eyes searched across the vast beach, until finally, I spotted him. He was sitting near the shore, bare-chested, holding a small book in his hands. The wind blew around him, and tousled his hair just a bit.

I turned back to Jake. "Can I go in the water?"

"Do you have a bathing suit?"

"I'm just gonna wade near the shore, in my shorts." I put my hand on my hip. "Unless of course, you want to see a real swimsuit model." I winked at his friends. They laughed, Jake had probably told them I was two years younger than them.

Jake said yes, and I pulled off my top. Underneath it was my bathing suit, black with bright neon pink and lime guns. My short shorts could stay on, since I hadn't quite developed the butt for a sexy bikini. I sat by the edge of the water, just letting my feet get wet. When I turned my head slightly to the side, I could see the boy, looking oh-so hot, still reading his book. I turned back to the water, thinking of ways I could possibly start a conversation with him. He was too far away to be able to see what he was reading, and Jake would probably kill me if I just went right up and started talking to him. Maybe if I pretended I was drowning, he would come to my rescue and pull me out of the water. Naw, Jake would probably reach me first. Oh, how I wish I had at least brought my sketchbook! I would draw the perfect silhouette of his arched back against the setting sun over the horizon...

I looked up at the sky, and sighed. It always looked beautiful at this time of day, twilight, someone had once told me. The sun was setting, sending across the sky the perfect blend of pinks and oranges, and leaving behind the starry night. I don't understand how some people don't like it. I doodled in the sand, and felt a light breeze pick up my short red bangs and send them into my eyes. I smiled to myself, and flipped my hair, in an effort to look sexy, and turned back to the boy. He was up on his feet, looking in my direction. I sat up as I realized he was looking right at me. I flipped my bangs again. the wind hadn't stopped. I felt a warm hand on my shoulder, and heard Jake's voice whisper, "Stop that, it looks like you have a twitch." I stopped, and felt the blood creeping up towards my face again. Jake handed me my shirt, and I slipped it on quickly, so I could at least catch one last glimpse of the beautiful boy.

I gasped.

He had moved closer, not twenty feet away, and was still staring at me, intently. From this distance, he looked sixteen, seventeen years old, tops. I could manage that. I was turning fifteen in August. His chest was perfectly chiseled. Oh, I sighed as I saw his six-pack. I snapped out of my trance when Jake smacked my arm. "We have to get home now."

I put my hand to my forehead, feeling light-headed all of a sudden. I nodded, and let Jake put his heavy arm around me to protect me from falling.

We arrived at his house in a short time. Billy was inside, on the phone. Jake sat down at the table, and I sat across from him.

"Did you have fun today?" Jake asked me.

"Barely," I replied, with a huff to my voice. "All I did was sit there, bored out of my mind."

"Why didn't you bring your sketchbook? I know how you love to draw."

"I was thinking that... I'm not sure if I brought it though."

Billy turned to us. "I ordered some pizza, if that's alright."

"Thanks, Dad." Jake stood and headed for the door. "I'll be back before it gets here." He pulled off his shirt.

"Thanks Billy." I smiled and stood, headed for Jake's room. I never felt very comfortably near him since his accident, so I always looked for ways to avoid conversation with him. I stepped into Jake's tiny room and started rummaging through the things I hadn't unpacked yet. I couldn't find my sketchbook anywhere. I sat on Jake's bed and pouted. I had sworn I had thrown it in under my clothes...

I returned to the kitchen dismally, seeing as I couldn't keep up my favorite hobby this summer. I sat on the couch as Billy flipped the channels, looking for something interesting to watch. He passed about a million things I wouldn't mind sitting a whole hour through, so I stood up and said I'd be outside. It was dark, so naturally he told me to be careful. I smiled at his unnecessary warning. It felt good to have someone watch out for me. I promised I'd be within calling distance, and pulled on my favorite hoodie. I sat on the steps outside their door. It was warm, so I pulled off my sweater and tied it around my waist. I stood and wandered to the edge of their property, and back again, then on to the other side. I felt like a lion, pacing around in its cage, waiting for someone to bring it its food, which I found somewhat amusing, since I _was_ waiting for the pizza to arrive.

I wandered around Jake's garage. I was curious about whether he'd finished his car yet or not. I was about to go in, but I heard someone call my name.

My heart skipped a beat, for some reason hoping it would be the boy from the beach, but I turned and saw Jake, sweaty, and tired looking again.

"The pizza's here," he said smiling. Last summer, he's seen me pig out on a whole large pizza, and almost died of laughter after we found that I had gained three pounds in one sitting.

I smiled back half-heartedly. "Okay." I skipped up the steps and into the kitchen.

Billy was already sitting, putting two slices on his plate. I noticed there were three pizzas, not one, like last year. I looked at Jake, a puzzled expression on my face.

He wiped some grease from his chin. "One for me, one for you, and one for Billy." He half-grinned at me, and I did like a five year old and stuck my tongue out at him. He laughed.

I stared at the pizza for a moment, until I finally decided I didn't care. I pulled my pizza toward me and started eating it at once. Jake's raised his eyebrows at me when I refused a paper plate. He handed me a cup full of soda, and I chugged it down quickly. I had eaten five slices, when Billy patted my arm. "Calm down, Winnie."

"Yeah, don't give yourself a heart attack," Jake agreed, before shoving two slices in his mouth. "Heart problems run in our family."

I grimaced. His mouth was full, and all the pizza was falling out. "You're disgusting."

We kept eating until we'd finally finished all the pizza. Jake and I lay on the floor, bloated and uncomfortable. We kept sighing and burping, until finally we were well enough to get up and go to our room. I grabbed my pajamas and went to the bathroom to change. When I came out, Jake was laying on the sofa, snoring lightly. Billy was in his room, getting ready to sleep. I crept silently past his door, but he caught me anyways.

"Winnie?" he asked.

I turned and put on my best smile. "Yeah?"

"I was wondering... are you okay? You don't seem like yourself."

I shrugged. "I feel like myself."

"You seem... different."

I frowned. "How so?"

Billy frowned for a second. "Almost... irritable."

Irritable? I hadn't been here long enough to show him irritable. He should hear the fights me and my mom get into back home. "No, I'm fine. But thanks for your concern. If there's something wrong, I wont hesitate to ask for help." Darn my mother and her polite and courteous ways. Even trying to tell Billy to shove off came out sounding right. I shook my head. I turned to head back to Jake's room, and glanced at him. He was so asleep, it wasn't even funny. I turned to Billy again.

"Jake stays out later these days. It wears him out a lot."

I frowned. "So then, it's not a very good idea that I'm here?"

"He needs the company. He's been going through a lot these days."

"Ah." I nodded. "I see. Well, goodnight Billy." I started towards Jake's room. I stepped through the doorway. I searched once more for the book, but finally gave up. I pulled back the covers on Jake's bed and lay in it. I turned this was and that, until finally I was comfortable.


	2. Dreams

I was restless during the night. I'm sure I must've alarmed Billy, but then he must've thought I was just dreaming.

What I saw in my sleep though, was far from a dream. It was an absolute nightmare.

Jake and I sat at the beach, and the boy was there. At first, I thought it was going to be, you know, one of _those_ dreams. The boy came up to me, and offered me his hand. I gladly placed my palm into his, and he led me away from the rest of my group. At first, I was more than pleased to follow him. But then we started walking in a thick forest, and suddenly the sunlight wasn't visible anymore. I tried pulling away, but he picked me up in his arms, and started running. I held on to his muscular chest for dear life, until finally we arrived at a weird meadow. I was absolutely sure at this point that no harm was going to be inflicted on me, but then, he threw me on the ground. I started screaming, but I didn't think anyone would actually hear me. He started pulling at my clothes, but I tried to fight back. He quickly pulled a knife out of his pocket and stabbed me. I screamed again, of course. All I could do was lie on the ground and wait for the nightmare to be over.

When I was finally sure he'd stopped, I closed my eyes, thinking death was going to arrive soon. I felt alone in that meadow, as if he'd left, so I turned on my side and started crying. That's when the girl showed up; the strange girl with golden eyes. She circled around me, wrinkling her nose every now and then, as if she smelled something bad. Of course, I would smell, what with the rape, and the dying.

She leaned into me, and closed her eyes for a short second. She smiled before picking me up in her arms and running through the forest with me. She was stone cold, and just as hard, but I felt comforted in her arms. She carried me away, to a strange ancient looking house with moss growth all over it. A tall blond man stood over me, with the same golden eyes as the girl.

"Is she gonna live, Carlisle?" the girl asked.

"I'm not sure; she's lost a lot of blood." He turned to her and smiled. "As if you don't know that."

She crinkled her forehead. "I don't know. I see her alive and well, but there's something different about her. Much paler..." she glanced up in a second. "Do you think..?"

The man named Carlisle rested his chin on his hand, and frowned, as if in thought. "Maybe... if that's what you see."

"Would that be alright for her?"

"Is that what you see?"

The girl concentrated for a moment again, and nodded her head vigorously up and down.

"Then that's what we're going to do." Carlisle took my hand in his, also freezing cold, and rubbed the back of it with his thumb. "Honey, can you hear me?"

I tried moving my body, and I guess I did something resembling a nod. "Her name is Winnie Black. She's fourteen years old... and that's all I can see about her. Her future keeps flickering in and out."

Carlisle frowned. "That's odd. Has that ever happened to you before?"

"No. I don't know why it does that though. Maybe there's something wrong with her."

Carlisle shrugged. He turned back to me. "This will only hurt for a second." He took my hand in his again, and bit into it. I shrieked.

I sat up in alarm. I looked around to make sure I was still in Jake's room. I was. I got up and went to the kitchen. Jake lay on the couch, still sleeping. I went to the refrigerator and took out the orange juice. I grabbed a cup and poured the juice in. I drank it very deliberately. When I was done, I put the cup on the sink. I slinked carefully toward Jake, until finally I stood right above him. I bounced on his flat stomach, and he jumped up in surprise, or pain, or maybe both. He pushed me off him, yelling, "What's your problem?!"

I smiled smugly. "Top o' the morning to you, too."

He rubbed his eyes with his fists, and sighed. "Where's Billy?"

I looked around. "Not here, obviously."

"Maybe he went fishing with Charlie..." Jake's eyes wandered over to a thick envelope on the kitchen counter. He turned back to me and said, "What do you want to do today?"

I shrugged. "Is there a mall nearby?"

"There's a Port Angeles. As if you don't know that."

I shivered at the memory of my dream. "Forget that. Beach?"

He shrugged and put his shoes on.

"So I'm guessing that's a yes?"

"I'll drop you off by the beach, but I have things to do. I'll pick you up later."

"Okay." I sighed.

"What?"

"Well, I was thinking, if maybe we could stop somewhere and get me some drawing utensils?"

"Of course."

By the time we got to the beach, the sun was well above our heads. I sat at the same log as before. I watched the little Quileute kids playing by the water's edge, and sighed, remembering back when that was me, trying to tag along as my older sisters tried flirting with the older boys. It never worked, of course, but they tried each time.

I turned and sighed again. I looked at the cliff behind me. It was so huge. I saw a couple of boys throwing themselves off it, and sat back down when I realized no one else was reacting as crazily as I was. I grabbed my sketchbook and opened it to the first page. I started drawing the outline of the cliff, just the top. When I was done with that, I started drawing the dark silhouette of a diver. It was a girl, short and petite, with short hair, not even beyond her chin. Her hands flew hesitantly above her head, as if she weren't so sure she should've done this. I always liked to picture how the people I draw would react to me drawing them, even though most of them were right out of my mind.

The story for this girl was, she led a slightly normal life, but people still thought she was weird. My creations were always beautiful, though sometimes more outwardly than inwardly. This girl was the sweetest, most caring person you'd ever meet. She was always there, rescuing you, before you even knew you needed rescuing, and she loved doing your hair, or putting make up on you like a Barbie doll. Very intelligent too, like a wise older sister.

I drew a dark outline of her face, her eyes, and her furrowed eyebrows. She glanced at me, suddenly, off the page, and winked at me, with her golden eye.

I dropped my pad. This was the girl from my dream. I turned to a clean page, and started all over again. I drew her face and her body, just as I'd dreamed it up. I took extra care drawing her stance; something about it was just graceful. I kept messing something up, and kept turning to clean sheets. Finally, I got everything right. I wanted to name her, but nothing came to mind. I set my book next to me and leaned back on the log. I looked up at the sky. The sun was setting slowly in the west. I picked up my book again. "What should I name her?"

"Alice." Jake was suddenly behind me.

I frowned. "How long have you been here?"

"Not long. Just long enough to see you finishing her face."

"Why Alice?" I put the eraser of my pencil to my mouth.

Jake shrugged. "It just seemed appropriate."

I quickly scribbled "Alice" across the top. "Perfect." I turned to him and smiled. He kept his eyes intently on the drawing. "What, is she turning you on or something?" I nudged his shoulder softly. He wrinkled his nose, just like "Alice" had in my dream. I frowned. That was just creepy.

"No." he turned away. "She just looks familiar." He shook his head and stood up, pulling me up with him. "Did you have fun today?"

"A little. Drawing Alice was very hard. I had to get it just right."

We walked along the beach. I held on to my book protectively. When we got home, Billy still wasn't back. Jake and I sat around watching TV until it got late. He sent me to my room to get ready for bed. As I was changing, I heard the front door open, and assumed it was Billy. I opened the door, just a crack, and saw that I was right.

I frowned, though, when I saw him. His face was very pale, as if he'd seen a ghost. I closed the door quietly and finished getting dressed.

"Is she asleep?" I heard Billy ask.

"Yeah, I think so. Why?"

I heard Billy's chair bump into the couch, and the sound of the springs as Jake sat on it. I put my head to the door, since I knew if I went out, they would stop talking. "Something happened..."

"Is it Bella?"

"No."

There was a pause, I imagined Jake pondering what must've happened. "Did the red haired female come back?"

"No." Billy sighed. "The psychic. She wanted to talk to me in private. She said she'd been seeing things..."

The living room was still for a dew seconds. "What did she see?" Jake finally asked.

"She said she saw a new person, a new threat. Twice as strong as the newborns. Both of the groups together couldn't catch it."

"She'd checked?"

"Yes. She could see every move this new thing was trying to make. It was very predictable, she said."

"Was it after Bella?" Jake asked, and I could hear the edge to his voice. "Pretty soon, she's gonna be one of them, too, so they'll have no problem taking it out."

Billy sighed again. "That's where her vision stopped. She saw it, they were just about to get it, and it got very angry, and her vision went blank. She panicked. They're not sure what it is yet."

"Do you think it'll come to the reservation?"

"I'm not sure. It might, but I don't want you to go after it. If it's really as bad as the psychic said, you're no match for it."

Jake chuckled silently. "Maybe they lose their strength after a while."

"This is no laughing matter, Jacob. Your cousin Winnie is here. She might be in danger."

Another pause. "I could watch her. Me and the guys."

"We'll see what the psychic says. She'll tell us if she finds out anything new."

"Okay." The couch springs squeaked again. I stood up and walked over to the bed. As I pulled the covers over myself, I heard Jake's voice again.

"I think she sees things, too."

"What do you mean?"

"Winnie. She drew a picture of Alice today. Exactly like her. The eyes, the face, the hair. Maybe she saw it coming after her, and Alice was there just in time, since she'd seen the things move."

I pressed my ear to the door again. They were talking about _me_. How rude.

"Did she say anything?"

"No. well, I was afraid to ask her."

"Or, maybe they broke the treaty and came on our land. Maybe they were talking to her."

"I don't think so. She would've told me."

Billy patted his armrest. "We'll ask her tomorrow morning."

"Okay."

It was quiet for a few seconds, then I heard Billy's door close, and after a while, I heard Jake's snoring. I slumped against the door. Who is Alice? Why was it a problem that I drew her? I frowned and crossed my arms. Maybe I was adopted, and Alice is my real mother! I smiled to myself on that one. She looked around seventeen, eighteen. I was delusional. I lay in my bed under the covers. Sleep was catching up to me, and soon I'd be asleep.

And what was that thing they were talking about? Why would it be a threat? Why would Jake go after it? Why would I need to be protected?

That night, I had my second nightmare.

I was in that meadow again. There was a plain girl there, brown here, normal height, nothing special. Alice was there, too, clinging on to the arm of a boy, blond, muscular, pale. There were three others, just as pale, one girl, blond too, and two boys, one with sandy blond hair, and the other I couldn't see clearly, he was at the other side of the meadow. They turned to me as I entered the meadow, all of them smiling at me. I smiled back, I think, and touched my hair self-consciously when the sandy haired boy looked at me. I glanced at my hand, and I was as pale as the people there. I touched my hand to my face, and discovered that I was freezing cold. I walked towards Alice, so I could ask her what was going on. She smiled at me, her pixie little features excited. She held out a mirror for me, and I gasped as I saw my reflection. I was just as pale as the others, except for the plain girl.

My eyes, which I expected to be topaz, just like everyone else's, where bright red. I looked at Alice in horror, and she gave me the same expression, and quickly turned to the plain girl. The sandy haired boy was at her side instantly, his arm protectively around her. I sniffed, which I then realized was a mistake, because I lunged at them, snarling. Alice was there in a flash, pulling me back.

"Winnie! You have to control yourself!"

"But, she smells... how can you... _stand_ it?!" I found myself shrieking at her from under her protective arm.

"You have to learn to keep yourself under control."

I started shaking, either as a result of her cold body against mine, or the anger flooding through me.

"Stop shaking," Alice complained, as I almost threw her off me.

I tried to stop, but I couldn't. All I could feel was anger, and this insane _thirst_, and when I glanced down to ask Alice what was happening, she stared at me in horror again. I was standing, and, although earlier, I was just a few inches taller than her; I was at least a whole foot higher than her in the air. She shrieked. I didn't know what had happened. I ran over to the mirror Alice had dropped on the ground, and lost my breath when I saw what stared back.

It was not very human, and not all that much a dog, either. It had the insane red eyes, and was extremely pale, but was on it legs, or paws, or whatever. I turned back to Alice as a slight breeze passed by. This was bad, because it brought back the scent of the girl. I turned back to her and lunged at her. Something smashed into me, and I imagined it should've hurt once I saw the massive lump of man that I had nearly crushed. It was the other boy, very muscular, who had tried to throw me off balance. I glanced back at him, and felt bad when he lay on the ground, helpless, but the wind did not cede blowing. I sniffed the air again, and turned back to the girl. I looked up and howled at the sky. I was about to lunge when a horrible smell filled the air; it was too sweet for me to handle. I put my hands—paws—over my nose, and howled again. Alice threw herself on me again, and yelled, "Edward, take Bella away." I turned my head a little to see who Edward was. He was the gorgeous one, of course, who was quickly taking the obviously human girl away into the forest. He ran quicker than lightning, and was gone in less than a second. I shot up and followed. The smell left the air.

I followed Bella's scent through the forest, until I reached the moss-covered house again. The man, Carlisle, was waiting at the door. Edward and Bella were standing behind him, along with another blond female.

"Winnie," he said, "Calm down."

Finally, I was able to speak my own words. "What's happening to me, Carlisle?" I threw myself on the ground. I covered my face with my hands. They weren't cold anymore. They were normal and not so pale anymore. "First, I looked just like them, Alice, and Edward, and the other people in the meadow, and then I looked like a frigging _dog_!"

I felt someone's hand on my back. "Bella, no!"

I glanced up to see who it was, and was surprised when I didn't try to attack her.

"She's not attacking me, Edward." She turned to him. "She's not even cold, or hot, she's alright."

Edward skipped lightly down the steps. "Winnie, do you know what happened back there at the meadow?"

I shook my head. "No. that's why I'm scared."

He glanced at Carlisle. "You didn't explain?"

"She was up and out without us knowing. Alice said she couldn't see what was going to happen very clearly. Only little specks."

Edward turned back to me and took my hand in his. It was cold, just as I'd been earlier. "Winnie, Carlisle and Alice decided to save you from your death the other day, remember that?"

I nodded. "How, though?"

"Well, they did that by turning you into—"

"Good morning, Winnie!!" Jake screeched, kicking the door open. He pulled the covers off me and threw a glass of cold water on my face.

I screamed. "Oh, my god, what's your problem?" I shrieked.

"Your dad called."

I sat up in surprise. I hadn't talked to him since April. "What did he say?"

"Nothing. Just that he thought it would be a good idea if we started taking you to the council meetings."

I leapt up into Jake's arms. "Does that mean he's coming?"

Jake smiled a sad smile. "He's in new York already."

I felt my heart flip in my chest, and then crash and burn. I was really hoping he'd be here, alone, without his stupid fiancée. But I guess my mom must've gotten a restraining order or something. "Why does he want to me to go to the stupid meeting?" I jumped out of his warm embrace and crept to the kitchen. He followed behind me.

"Well, there's something you need to know, Winnie, about you and your family, and us."

I grabbed a cookie out of their cookie jar, and jammed it into my mouth. "Why did you separate 'your family' and 'us'? You guys practically are my family."

"You'll see."

I sat at the table. "Why'd I have to wake up so early?"

"We're going to the beach now so you can draw some more, and then we'll go to the meeting."

"alright." I grabbed my tote bag off the back of my chair where I'd left it last night, and followed Jake out the door. I'd slept in my bathing suit with a big t-shirt over it, so I just put on my flip-flops and went outside.

Jake and I raced each other to the beach, and I almost beat him, and probably would've, if I didn't have my tote bag. I skipped toward the same log as always, and put my bag down to catch my breath.

"Wow," Jake said, sitting next to me. "You're really fast."

"Yeah," I said, panting, "my dad said I shouldn't try out for the track team because I have an unfair advantage." I rolled my eyes. "Whatever that is."

Jake laughed. "He doesn't think its fair... because you're a Quileute, and not only that, but you're a direct descendant of Taha Aki."

I looked at him, bewilderment in my eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It just means you're a little quicker, and a little taller, and a little hotter, not that way, than most kids your age."

I frowned. Just because I'm one of the great chief, Taha Aki's great to whatever degree grandchild doesn't mean I'm any special-er than other kids. "Them's fightin' words!" I tackled Jake back. We started wrestling like we had many times when we were younger, until we were laughing so hard our ribs hurt.

I kicked Jake off my log and pulled out all my drawing utensils. I started drawing the guy from my dream, Edward. He was very attractive, and I hoped that, since Alice is real, maybe Edward was too. I drew his hair, wind blown and over his golden eyes. I smiled when I was done, and I could've sworn he smiled back.

Or maybe that's just the way I drew him.

"What's his name?" Jake asked, frowning at my drawing.

"I named him myself." I quickly scribbled his name in cursive across the top.

Jake's eyes practically popped out.

My face turned red. They knew something about this, and I might get into trouble for drawing him. I quickly turned to a new page and started doodling hearts around the edges. He didn't say anything for the longest, and that immediately threw me into a panic.

Finally, he stopped my hand and pulled the pencil out from between my fingers. "Winnie, I need you to tell me where you saw these people, and what they said to you."

I stared down at the sand furiously until my face wasn't so hot. "I didn't see them anywhere around here."

"Then where?"

I winced. If I told him about my dreams, he'd think I was crazy. "I don't remember," I lied.

"Yes, you do. Tell me, Winnie."

"Will I get into trouble for drawing them?"

"No. just tell me where you saw them."

I sighed, and was about to recap him on the details of my dreams, when one of his friends showed up. "Jake, it's time for the meeting."

Jake and I turned to each other at the same time. I wasn't sure if I should go on, but he whispered, "You _will_ tell me next time."

I looked down again, and started picking up my things. How would Jake react when I told him about my dreams?

Chapter 3 is done!! Review so I'll be willing to put it up


	3. Legends

I settled between Jake and his friend, Quil. The sun was setting quickly over the horizon, and there was barely enough light to finish drawing the crazy wolf-person from my dream. Jake kept glancing over my shoulder, and smiling. He and Quil kept nudging each other and giggling.

I rolled my eyes. The sun shone for one last second, before dipping into the ocean. I closed my book and shoved it into my bag. I was tired.

There were other people sitting in our circle, most of whom I didn't know. Mostly it was just a bunch of gangly teenage looking boys, except for one older looking guy, who sat next to Billy at the head of the circle, and a few girls. Next to him was a beautiful girl with black hair, and dark skin, like most of the other people in the circle. I looked around at everyone, and realized I was the only fair-skinned person there. I twirled a strand of my hair self-consciously.

Finally, everyone started quieting down. Billy reached his hand out at me, and gestured for me to join him. I stood up and quickly skipped up to him.

He patted the space next to him, and I sat down. He turned to everyone, who were peering curiously at me. I glanced down at the floor again, since I could feel the embarrassment starting to show on my face. Billy put his hand on my shoulder.

"This is Winnie," he said, "Micheal's youngest daughter."

Someone started chattering, but quickly stopped when Billy stared her down. "As you all know, or most of you, he left about twenty years ago, when he was done with high school, and married a Polish woman in Chicago. Their children have visited since the oldest was six years old, and I've seen them grow old, and move on, without anything extraordinary happening to them."

"Recently, though, we've noticed Winnie has been going through some changes that her siblings didn't go through. And Micheal revealed to us that she's the only child he has fathered."

I glanced up at him , shocked. "What?" I asked.

Billy glanced down, as if he didn't expect me to speak. "Your his only kid with your mom."

I frowned. "So where did Katherine, and Weronika and Mike and Betsy and Meghan and Johnny and Artie and Miguel come from?"

billy raised his eyebrows at me.

"My mom was a whore?" my jaw dropped. I knew there was a reason that my parents had problems, but I didn't know that was the reason.

Billy ignored my question and went on. "Micheal told me that he hasn't reminded Winnie of the Quileute legends lately. He wanted us to remind her before anything happens to her, so she wont panic." he turned to the girl next to the tall older guy. "Emily?"

She smiled at him and stood. She walked over to us and sat next to me on the log. It was then that I realized that one side of her face was completely scarred. I looked away, not wanting to be rude and stare. "Do you remember any of the old Quileute legends, Winnie?"

I frowned, trying to remember, and then I nodded. "Taha Aki, and Utlapa, and and the spirit warriors..." I gulped, remembering my dream. "And the werewolves."

Emily nodded and smiled again. "Taha Aki was the last spirit warrior."

I nodded back, remembering. "Because Utlapa was trying to be the chief, he wanted to take over, enslave the surrounding tribes."

"What did Utlapa do?"

The memory flooded back to me; it had been a warm spring afternoon. I had been sitting on my dad's lap, I was seven, maybe eight years old. Weronika had been acting up, and he told us he had to tell us a story. "Utlapa stole Taha Aki's body, while Taha Aki was in the Spirit world. He murdered his body with Taha Aki's hands. Then he convinced everyone that he was the real Taha Aki."

"Yeah. What did Taha Aki do then?"

"He saw a wolf, and was jealous of it, 'cause at least it had a body, but then he asked the wolf to make room for him, and the wolf let him in."

Emily smiled lovingly at me. I wondered if she was the mother of any of these other kids. No, I immediately pushed the thought out of my head. She looked way too young. Or maybe she was a teacher. She had the characteristics of it. I tried to remember what came next in the story, and instead I got the memory of my father.

_"is he like the big bad wolf in the three little pigs?" I asked._

_My siblings laughed at me. "No, stupid, it's a werewolf."_

_I stuck out my tongue at my brother. "Then what happened daddy?"_

_he grinned at me, and continued in a spooky voice."_

"Taha Aki ran back to the village, to try to warn the people of what was happening. One man was able to recognize that the dog was no ordinary dog; it was being propelled by some sort of spirit. So, he went against the fake Taha Aki's wishes, he'd said no one was to go to the spirit world anymore, and saw the real Taha Aki. Taha Aki told him what had happened, but before the man, Yuta, could return to his body, Utlapa had him killed. So then, Taha Aki saw Yuta's body joining the other ancestors, and he got pissed, 'cause, he'd never be able to join them until he dies, which wasn't possible, because he had no body to die in. his anger was so powerful that he morphed into one with the wolf. Werewolf." I turned to look at the others. They all sat attentive, which I assumed meant that they hadn't heard this story before. "so, from then on, all his descendants have been able to morph into dogs."

everyone applauded when I was done. Emily squeezed my shoulder. "You did a great job."

I smiled. I still felt like a retarded kid, being congratulated and praised for the smallest things, but I still smiled.

Billy's voice boomed over everyone's other sounds. "Do you know the other occasion when they morphed into wolves? The story about their enemies?"

I frowned. My dad hadn't told us that one. "Werewolves have enemies?"

"Yep."

"Who?"

"The cold ones," Jake bellowed from across the bonfire. He stood up and walked towards me. "Popular culture likes to call them vampires."

Alice, Carlisle, and Edward popped into my head. I don't know why. I shook their images from my head and let Jake and Billy go on. "What about vampires?"

"To werewolves, vampires have a bittersweet smell. They are still rather beautiful, but their scent is what pushes them away. A female vampire showed up in the village, her hair red, like fire, but only the werewolves would know who she was." billy turned towards everyone, directing the story to the whole audience, not just me. "There was only one werewolf around, a small boy, who clung on to his mother, shrieking about the smell."

I closed my eyes and leaned against Jake. I pictured the scene, and tried picturing the woman. Red hair like mine? No, red fiery hair. My hair was probably a few shades darker. And the little boy. Dark, like the rest of the Quileutes. Terrified, of course, because of this terrible creature Billy was illustrating. He hung on tightly to his mother, who asked him what was wrong, and all he could reply with was a piercing scream. I covered my ears, although the scream was in my head, not out in the woods.

But, oh, it sounded real! If I didn't know any better I'd probably assume there was someone out in the woods, shrieking at the sight and scent of the red-haired woman. I turned to see if maybe Jake had heard it too, but his face was as serene as ever. I buried my head in Jake's chest.

"Are you okay?" he whispered, patting my back.

"Can you hear it?" I whispered back.

"Hear what?"

"The screaming. It's hurting my ears."

Jake frowned at me. Oh, lord, he thought I was insane. Now how would I explain the dreams he wanted to know about? He'd probably have me committed. "Go to sleep, okay? I know it's kinda late, but these meetings always kind of drag."

I nodded. I closed my eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

That, as it turns out, was a horrible, terrible mistake.

The shrieking got louder, and louder, and I turned and turned until I found the source: Bella.

She was sitting in a meadow, same one as before, I realized, holding on to herself, as if she'd rip at the seams if she let go. I ran over to her, concerned.

"Bella, are you alright?"

she glanced up at me, her face tear-stained, and pronounced, "he's gone."

I had a vague idea who "he" was, so I asked. She whispered the name: "Edward."

I was confused. Just the other night, they'd seemed insuperable. Why would he leave her? "Where did he go?"

she started sobbing. "Victoria took him."

I grimaced. "Who's Victoria?"

my senses were alert at that moment. I smelled something, something sweet.

I imagined I must have shuddered, because I could faintly feel Jake's reassuring hand rub my back.

Back to sleep.

It was sweet, and I felt myself freeze. Not the kind of freeze where you're so scared that you freeze in place, I mean literally freeze. As in, my skin was ice cold. "Bella..." a soft childish voice behind me said.

It was gently, like the coo of a baby. I imagined it belonged to a child. I smiled at Bella reassuringly, and turned to face the person behind me.

I had pictured the red-haired woman tall, thick, wicked looking. Almost like a witch, not really like a vampire. All the mental pictures I'd constructed were nothing like what I was looking at. I had no idea who this woman was, yet I could feel that it was the red-haired woman Billy was talking about. Victoria, I sensed. She smiled at me.

I was careful not to do anything that would provoke her. Bella said that she'd done something to Edward, and for some reason, I felt a closeness to him. I was immediately on the defensive.

"Move out of my way, and you wont get hurt." the baby voice was all wrong. Her red eyes were on fire.

"No," I found myself saying.

She smiled. "I don't want to have to hurt you, little girl, so just please, step aside, and let me have her." she looked beyond me at Bella. I didn't glance back to see her reaction, I knew Victoria would take that opportunity to strike.

"Winnie," Bella crowed, as if she were choking. I was stupid enough to turn at the call of my name, and that's when Victoria pounced. I met her halfway, the dog instincts taking over. I threw her on the ground, and started attacking.. Bella shrieked. Out of nowhere, Edward jumped in. he pushed me out of the way and finished off Victoria. I turned to Bella, and suddenly the scene was different: we were on a cliff, and Bella was holding a rock at the inside of her wrist. Another dog bounced out of the woods, carrying chunks of white rock in his mouth. There was a horrible smell in the air. I grimaced and started coughing.

"I'm not going to hurt you." I turned to see Edward walking towards Bella, his arms raised. She collapsed into his arms, and I turned to give them a moment. I turned back to the wolf. "Who are you?"

he cocked his head to the side, as if in confusion. I looked deep into his eyes.

I was startled awake. "Winnie, we're leaving."

I wiped the sweat from my forehead. "Okay..." I mumbled.

I stood up, and he walked me over to his friends to say goodbye. I wiped the sleep from my eyes and glanced up. There was a boy standing in front of me, about fifteen, or sixteen. "Hey, you look familiar..."

he frowned, and cocked his head to the side, just like the werewolf in my dream. I was alert right then. "Oh, my god," I mumbled.

"What's wrong?" Jake asked.

"Oh, my god!" I shrieked, shoving away from him. "He's a—you're telling me—it's all true?"

Jake put his hand to my forehead. "Are you okay?"

I stopped to think for a moment. Was I okay? "I'm not sure. I had a dream, and I thought I saw him in there."

"Okay, well, say goodbye now, we're leaving."

I waved absently and rubbed my temples. I was getting a migraine.

I could've sworn he looked just like the wolf in my dream...


	4. Temptation

**Authors note: Gah! Sorry I took so long to update. I had writer's block fer awhile, and then I had this big project to do, and tons of homework.**

**But yay new update!!**

**tell me what you think 33**

Seth.

That was the name of the boy. He's one of the younger boys that was at the council meeting, 15 years old. Seth Clearwater, meaning he was distantly related to me.

I saw him around the reservation a lot, since billy had decided to use me to run errands for him while Jake was out. Why he couldn't take me, I would never understand.

I was out getting some more markers one day, and that's the first time I saw her.

She was with an older man, maybe about thirty, forty years old. Her brown hair cascaded over her shoulders. She was pale, but not as pale as the others.

Bella.

I instinctively walked towards her. I didn't realize I had only seen her in my dreams, and never actually met her. I was about three feet away from her when I stopped abruptly. Jake was standing in front of her, and they were staring into each others eyes.

"Charlie, do you mind if I steal Bella for a second?" Jake said, his eyes never leaving her face.

"Of course not, Jake." he patted Bella's arm and walked away, grinning from ear to ear.

I ducked behind a stack of boxes. When I peeked around, Bella and Jake were nowhere in sight. I walked around, leaving my markers in the wrong aisles. I was about to give up, but I heard her voice. I peeked around the corner, and saw her.

She was standing with her arms crossed, looking away from Jake.

"Bella, if you stay with me, you don't have to worry about anyone coming after you anymore." he grabbed her by the elbow, but she pulled away.

"Jake, you don't understand. I have to do this, otherwise the Volturri--"

"Screw the Volturri!" Jake said, obviously irritated. "I don't care what they'll do to your leeches!"

Bella's eyes looked frightened suddenly, like they had looked in the last dream. "Not only them, Jake, they'll come after me. They said they would come from Italy to check on me if I wasn't changed."

I tried to understand what they were talking about. Italy?Volturri? Was the mafia coming after her?

"Then we can go away, far from here, where they'll never find you."

"I can't do that, Jake, I love him." a tear streamed down her cheek.

Jake grabbed her in his arms, and hugged her tight. "But you love me, too."

"Yes, I do, but I know who I can't live without. I'm sorry, Jake, you wont change my mind on this." she pulled away.

But Jake was too quick. He quickly had his arms around her waist. "What do they have that I don't? I'll be here for you my entire life."

"Exactly. Edward will be there for me for the rest of eternity. Literally."

I frowned. What on Earth are they talking about? They seemed to make more sense in my dreams.

"but—what?" Jake sighed, irritatedly. "What can I do to change your mind?"

"Nothing, Jake, my mind is set. I'm sorry." she reached up to grab Jake's face, and planted a small kiss on his cheek. I grimaced. She walked towards me, towards the end of the aisle, and passed by me, wiping her eyes. She didn't seem to notice my shocked expression. Jake stood there, a pained look on his face. I wanted to hug him, to comfort him. Nobody has ever had that effect on my cousin, and it hurt me to see him this way. I turned and followed Bella.

She climbed into a red, old-looking truck. She didn't turn on the engine, she didn't even open the windows. She sat there, holding on to herself like she had before. She sobbed, and I felt bad. I wanted to go up to her and ask her what was wrong.

Somebody poked my side. I turned, and there was Seth. "Hey, Winnie."

I smiled. "Hi Seth."

"What are you looking at?" he asked.

I gestured towards Bella.

"That's Chief Swan's daughter--"

"Bella," we both said. He frowned. "How did you know that?"

"I overheard her and Jake, arguing."

"Oh." Seth turned in the direction of the forest. "What happened?"

"I don't know, they were talking about 'eternity' and 'leeches' and how they loved each other. After she left he looked really hurt. I followed her here to ask her what her problem was." I looked back towards the car. "no one messes with my cousin."

Seth laughed. "You're defensive."

I smiled back. "A little."

he laughed. "actually, one of my friends wanted to talk to you. He said he saw you at the beach with Jake, but was too shy to talk to you."

I turned to see who Seth was pointing at.

And there he stood, marveling in all his Quileute-esque glory. My jaw dropped, and he smiled.

"Winnie, this is my friend Gil." Seth held out his hand at me. I took it and he led me closer to the boy. I smiled at him timidly.

He flashed me a smile. My heart skipped a beat. He was so gorgeous. I felt my hands start sweating, and my throat was getting dry. I glanced back at Seth.

"I'm gonna go see if I can find Jake." he let go of my hand and walked in the direction of the store.

"Winnie, right?" Gil asked.

I nodded.

"Cool." he smiled at me again.

I was speechless. I turned to hide my blushing face. Why on earth would he want to talk to me?

I heard a rumble. I turned back. Bella's truck was pulling out of the parking lot. "No!"

"Were you going to talk to her?" Gil asked.

"Yeah, I wanted to ask her some stuff..." I shook my head. "Doesn't matter. It's not like she'd be able to recognize me. She doesn't know me."

"Oh." He walked up next to me, and timidly took my hand in his. "So, you're not busy?"

I smiled. "No."

"So, do you think you'd be able to hang out with me?"

"Yes." he squeezed my hand in his, and I could hear the music playing in my head, my favorite song.

_Oh, it is love, from the first time I pressed my hand into yours, thinking, oh, is it love?_

We walked out of the parking lot and down to the beach. He held my hand the entire way, and my heart never stopped beating in my ears. Finally, he pulled me down to the sand.

"so, you wanted to talk to me?" I asked, gulping.

"Well, yeah." he let go of my hand, and laid down on the sand, putting his hands behind his head. "I've been seeing you at the beach. You're... how old are you?"

"Fifteen."

he smiled. "You're the only person around here my age that isn't busy all the time, like Seth." he turned on his side. "And you're the prettiest girl I've seen."

I blushed. There were tons of pretty girls walking around La Push. "No, seriously."

he laughed. "I'm not kidding. Are you even from around here?"

"no. I'm just visiting my cousin Jake."

"Oh. I'm visiting some relatives too. They said I had to be here this summer." he rolled his eyes. "Said something about changing and wolves--"

"They told you that too?" I asked. "My uncle told me that I was starting to change, and then they started talking about all these weird legends or something. It was weird. They expect me to believe that crap."

when I told him that, a weird flicker went off in his eyes. He smiled. "They haven't told you?"

I frowned. "Told me what?"

"The Quileute are all werewolves."

"are they, really?" I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah. And you have to be careful around some people. They might be trying to destroy the Quileute werewolf population."

"What are you talking about?" I pushed him away from me. He was inching closer to me without me noticing.

"sorry." I sat back up. "there's a new enemy to the werewolves, not just vampires."

"Really?"

"mhm. Your uncle didn't tell you the story?"

"No." I thought back to the night of the legends. "At least, I don't think so."

"Well, there was a werewolf that, instead of protecting the Quileutes from the vampires, he was killing people. He was banished from the village and sentenced to exile. One day, he came across a vampire, while he was in his human form. The vampire was so thirsty, he bit the werewolf. Now, the werewolf was half-vampire, half-wolf. It can morph between vampire, werewolf, and human. The elders are supposed to be watching for it, and protect the new wolves from it." he stroked my neck.

"So, I'm a werewolf?"

he smiled, as if I were a dumb blond or something. "yes, you are."

"That's so weird. The other night, I had this dream, I've been having dreams about werewolves for some reason, and I saw this werewolf that looked just like Seth..."

"You had dreams about werewolves?" he moved a little closer to me.

"Yeah. It was weird, though. There were vampires, too."

"Maybe you're about ready to become one." his voice was a soft whisper in my ear.

I knew nothing about being sexy or seductive, and that probably wasn't it, but, oh lord, he was so close to me. I could feel is breath on my shoulder.

And then, I thought of Jake. The look on his face after Bella left him.

And then everything made sense.

Jake was a werewolf.

Edward is a vampire.

They both love Bella, and they hate each other for that.

But... why were they haunting my dreams? I had nothing to do with the affair. I was just an innocent bystander.

Maybe... since Victoria was gone... someone else was going after Edward. And maybe that someone was Jake!

I jumped up. Gil was distracting me, I had to go see belle right away.

"What's wrong?" Gil asked.

"I have to talk to Bella." I shrugged his hand off my shoulder and took off running.


End file.
